Holder



A. K. TANQUARY HOLDER Filed Feb. 9, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet l Dec. 13, 1927.

A. K. TANQUARY HOLDER Filed Feb. 9, 192e 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jorney Patented Dec. 13, 1927.

UNITED ,STAT-Es ANITA K. TANQUARY, YOF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

HOLDER.

.Application filed-February 9, 1926. Serial No. 87,014.

'This invention has to do generally with lkitchen utensils, and is more particularly yconcerned with a Ydevice for holding-articles such as vegetables, fruit or nuts when they are to be grated. rlhe invention con- Vsildered in its broader aspects, however, need not necessarily be limit-ed to such specic application, since it may be applied with equal advantage to devices adapted to hold lO'ai-ticles for other purposes.

`When grating vegetables or the like, especially if the vegetables areslippery or are so VAshorter ofsuchV contour that they may not be firmly grasped, it is a common occurrence ,for the one holdingthe article to have their fingers slip onto the rough, sharp surface of the grater, with most painful results. Knowing the danger of such occurrences. one roften wastes considerable food material by failingto .grate it beyond the point where it may be firmly gripped.

Therefore, it is the general object of my inventionto provide av device whereby vegetables orthe like may be gripped firmly, irrespective of their contour and facial characteristics, within reasonable limits, the holder protecting the users hand by preventing it from coming into contact with t-hegrater, no matter how far down the article may have been grated. The device. includes releasable clamp means which are operable from rthe rear of the shield plate, which clamp is .adapted to .grasp the article firmly even though it be very short. The clamp is SO devised that it operates without requiring any considerable amount of conscious effort on the part of the operator, the natural tendency to squeeze the rfingers together in grasping the handle of the Vdevice serving to move thc clamp into operative position.

It is lalso among the objects of the inven- .tion to provide. a device of the character described which will be light, sturdy and comparatively simple, whereby it may stand up .under service conditions and yet be prokduced yat a cost sutliciently low to warrant its common use.

Other features of novelty Aand objects of the invention will be made apparent in connection with thefollowing detailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which V4Figd isa perspective view showing a vegetable held in a device embodying my' in: ventifi'i., and beingappled to a grater;

ytics of a grater.

Fig. 2 is a view-of the front'facey of the device;

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Fig. 3. In the drawings, numeral 10 designates a face or shield plate which is substantially rectangular in outline, though its upper corners may be cut off as at 11. The shield plate is provided with an aperture12, preferably circula-r, whereby an article, such as a carrot C (Fig. 1) may be thrust through the plate aperture to extend beyond both the front face 13 and rear face 14 of said plate.

The two opposite side edges'l of plate y10 are turned over to provide g-uideways 16 which are adapted to receive the opposite edges of a substantially rectangular slide plate 17 which makes Aup a part of a1 movable clamp element or jawgenerally designated by numeral 18 and arranged at the lower side of .aperture 12. The lower edge 19 of .plate 10 is turned up to provide achannel 20 for the reception ofthe lower edge of slide `plate 17, and forms av stop limiting'the eX- tent of sliding movement of plate17 inone direction.

The upper' edge ofk slide plate 17 is preferably cut away to provide lan arcuate notch 21 which preferably has the same radius of curvature asfaperture12 and is in alinement with the lower part of said aperture when the slide vplate is in its lowermost position.

vTurned outwardlyfrom slide plate 17 and away from shield plate 10 is alip 22 which preferably follows the curvature of notch 21, so it may be 'described .as a. lip of arcuate transverse cross section, the axis of the'lip being substantially coincident with the a-xis of aperture 12 when plate 17 is in its lowermost position.

Preferably, thc upper face of lip .22 is roughencd to `give it good gripping characteristics. This roughening may -be done conveniently vand well by gpunching the lip through yfrom the bottom yto .provide upstanding, hollow project-ions or teeth23, S0 the upper face. ofthe lip has thecharacteris- A finger grip '.24 is provided on member18, whereby said member may be slid over shieldplatell() ina mannerto traverse aperture 12. 4This .grip :.24 may be made convenientlyv in the form of a tingerrin'g secured by solderen any' other elimine means t@ the snee plete atea Preferably, the ring is also soldered to the under lace of lip 22 as at 26, this lorm of securement not only allowing the application 'ol linger pressure directly to the under lace of the lip, but also providing a brace between the lip and slide plate, that is, a brace lor the angle formed by turning t-he lip out wardly from t-he plate. Ring 2lis preterably located in the vertical axial plane ol aperture 12.

A handle for the device is provided in the form of a gripping bar 27 which is spaced from the rear lace ol plate 10, the ends 28 of said bar being bentinwardly and terminally secured at 29 to said plate. ends 28 are spaced apart sulliciently to allow the entrancevtherebetween 01"" the operators lingers when bar 27 is grasped, and the bent ends prevent the lingers lrom sliding over the upper and lower ends ol the shield plate and onto the serrated lace ol grater G (Fig. l). ln other words, the handle serves as a hand guard as well as means lor holding and manipulating the device.

A stationary clamp element or jaw is pro vided at the side of aperture 12 opposite to that at which slidable clamp member 18V is located; or the edge ol the plate which delines said opposite side ol the aperture may be considered a stationary jaw or clamp element. This stationary clamp element may be in the form ol a cross'piece 30 which is preferably ol arcuate cross section as shown in Fig. 4t, and extends between and is terminally secured to the rear lace of plate 10 and the inner lace ol handle bar 27. Clamp element 30 is preferably disposed diametrically opposite finger ring 24, its curvature being such that lip 22 may be slid up into close proximity therewith so as to grip relatively thin articles therebetween. The lower face 31 ol clamp element 30 is preferably in line with aperture 12 at a point diametrically opposite ring 24 and this under lace is prelerably roughened as at 32 in a manner similar to that described in connection with lip v22, projections 32 extending downwardly sulliciently l'ar to insure that articles thrust through aperture 12 may be gripped thereby.

Cross piece 30 extends longitudinally parallel to the axis of lip 32, and serves as a brace and tie between plate 10 and handle 2T. lt also provides a rest for the thumb ol the operator, as will be evident Jfrom a consideration of Fig.

In using the device, plate 17 is lowered sulliciently to open up aperture 12 to such an extent that a vegetable or other article such as carrot C may bel thrust approximately into the position of Fig. 1. By then resting the thumb upon cross piece or stationary clamp element 30, inserting one of the lingers through ring 24, and squeezing the thumb and lnger together as is natural in tightly The bent gripping any holding device, plate 1T is slid upwardly orcaused to traverse aperture 12 in a manner to grip the end ol the carrot tight-ly between clamp elements 22 and 30.

lt is to be noted that'plate 17 is movable into and out ot clamping position through a plane substantially parallel with the plane of plate 10. lllhile it is unimportant as to which linger is inserted through ring 24, it is convenient to use the second linger for this purpose, so the lorelinger may be used for exerting longitudinal pressure against the article to back it up during grating operations vor to project thearticle outwardly through aperture 12 when the clamp is loosened thereabout, as the article becomes shorter by reason ol the grating operation. ln other words, the lorenger may be used to adjust the article longitudinally when `the clamp is somewhat loosened.

lt will be evident that with the carrot thus held between the clamp elements that the operator may proceed with dispatch to grate that end ot the article which extends outwardly beyond front lace 13 of plate 10, and that the shield plate fully protects the hand, and more particularly the knuckles, by preventing' them :l'rom coming into contact with the grater, the bent over endsol the handle serving also as a guard, as previously de scribed.

lt will be understood the drawings and description are to be considered merely as illustrative ol" and not restrictive on the broader claims appended hereto, lor various changes in design, structure and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope o said claims.

l claim:

1. ln a device for holding an article to be through which the article is adapted to be thrust so it extends beyond both the front and rear lace thereof, a handle extending from the rear lace ol the plate, and a releasable clamp on the plate positioned to engage the article at the rear of the plate and hold it firmly thereto; said handle embodying a bar spaced from the rear face ol the plate and having its end bent inwardly and secured to said plate, the spacing of said arms being sufficient to receive a hand therebetween when the bar is grasped.

3. In a device :tor holding an article to all) lil)

Ll t) be grated, a shield plate having an aperture through which the article is adapted to be thrust so it extends beyond both the front and rear face thereof, a handle extending from the rear face of the plate, clamp members on the plate at opposite sides of the aperture, one of the members being slidable over the plate towards and away from the opposite clamp member, and a finger grip on said movable member whereby the slidable member is adapted to be moved by finger pressure.

4. In a device for holding an article to be grated, a shield plate having` an aperture through which the article is adapted to be thrust so it extends beyond both the front and rear face thereof, a handle extending from the rear face of the plate, a stationary clamp member on the shield plate at one side of the aperture, and a slidable clamp member on the shield plate at the opposite side of the aperture and adapted to be slid towards and away from the stationary member, said slidable member embodying a substantially rectangular slide plate in facial engagement with the rear face of the shield plate and having two of its opposite edges disposed in guideways provided on the shield plate, and a transverse lip on the slide plate turned away from the shield plate and facing the stationary clamp member.

5. In a device for holding an article to be grated, a shield plate having an aperture through which the article is adapted to be thrust so it extends beyond both the front and rear face thereof, a handle extending from the rear face of the plate, a clamp member on the shield plate at one side of the aperture, and a slidable clamp member on the shield plate at the opposite side of the aperture and adapted to be slid towards and away from th-e first mentioned clamp member, said slidable member embodying a substantially rectangular slide plate in facial engagement with the rear face of the shield plate and having two of its opposite edges disposed in guideways provided on the shield plate, and a transverse lip on the slide plate turned away from the shield plate and facing the first mentioned clamp member.

6. In a device for holding an article to be grated, a shield plate having an aperture through which the article is adapted to be thrust so it extends beyond both the front and rear face thereof, a handle extending from the rear face f the plate, a clamp member on the shield plate at one side of the aperture, and a slidable clamp member on the shield plate at the opposite side of the aperture and adapted to be slid towards andv away from the first mentioned clamp member, said slidable member' embodying a substantially rectangular slide plate in facial engagement with the rear face of t-he shield plate and having two of its opposite edges disposed in guideways provided on the shield plate, a transverse lip on the slide plate turned away from the shield plate and facing the first mentioned clamp member, and av finger grip on said slide plate.

7. In a device for holding an article to be grated, a shield plate having an aperture through which the article is adapted to be thrust so it extends beyond both the front and rear face thereof, a handle extending from the rear face of the plate, a stationary` clamp member on the shield plate at one side of the aperture, and a slidable clamp member on the shield plate at the opposite side of the aperture andl adapted to be slid towards and away from the stationary member, said slidable member embodying a substantially rectangular slide plate in facial engagement with the rear face of the shield plate and having two of its opposite edges disposed in guideways provided on the shield plate, a transverse lip on the slide plate turned away from the shield plate and facing the stationary clamp member, and a finger ring secured to said slide plate and to the lip.

8. In a device for holding an article to be grated, a shield plate having an aperture through which the article is adapted to be thrust so it extends beyond both the front and rear face thereof, and a releasable clamp on the plate positioned to engage the article at the rear of the plate and hold it firmly thereto, said clamp embodying an element which is movable into and out of clamping position through a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the plate.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 28 day of January, 1926.

ANITA K. TANQUARY. 

